Currently, software vendors limit the number of simultaneous users of a particular software application by issuing software licenses with agreed upon limits. Each license is a certificate, stored in a license file, that is used by a software access screening program, designated as the license server. The license server, which runs on a particular computer, grants users access to the software under the licenses, and manages the number of users currently running the software to ensure that the number of concurrent users does not exceed the maximum, as indicated in the license file.
Vendors protect their asset, which is the use of the software, by restricting use of the license file to a particular computer, as identified by its hardwired machine serial number. The vendor also ensures that only one copy of the license file is valid at any one time. This ensures that usage of the software asset is being managed from a license server using a single copy of the license file. Since the license management is tied to a particular machine, system management flexibility is severely impacted. Thus, if the license server goes down, due to a planned or unplanned event, this has the severe impact of bringing down all the licensed applications dependent on the license file of the license server.
In the case of a planned event, a licensee may request a new license file to be managed by another license server. However, vendors make the acquisition of new license files, which permit the switching of the license servers, a cumbersome process, in order to discourage the proliferation of licensed files that could be potentially utilized. Thus, for planned outages, there is a cumbersome technique available. However, for unplanned outages, not even this cumbersome technique is available.
Based on the foregoing, a need exists for a capability that facilitates switchover of license servers. In particular, a need exists for a capability that enables dynamic transfer of license administrative capabilities from one license server to one or more other license servers.